CHENNAI: A special POCSO court on Tuesday sentenced a 45-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine of RS 8,000 for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2016. According to the prosecution, Dakshinamoorthy was residing close to the house of the victim. On May 30, 2016, the convict saw the girl playing alone, took her to a secluded spot and assaulted her sexually.
The girl, unable to bear the pain, began to cry and her brother came to her rescue. The convict fled the scene after people gathered hearing the girl’s cries. The prosecution also submitted that the convict had threatened the girl of killing her.
Based on the complaint given by the girl’s family, the All Women police registered a case under Section 10 of POCSO Act and arrested him. The defence counsel however, denied all the allegations at the special court. Dismissing the arguments of the defence, Mahila Court judge RN Manjula observed that the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt and pronounced the verdict.
3 held under POCSO Act
Three men were arrested under POCSO, in separate cases. An all-woman police team arrested a 38-year-old man for sexually assaulting his wife’s 17-year-old niece. While the accused had been living alone after separation, he wooed the victim, a first-year college student, with false promises and sexually abused her, claimed the police. Her parents who came to know about the incident lodged a complaint. He was arrested and later remanded.
Similarly, Avadi All-Woman Police arrested a 21-year-old man for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl with the promise of marriage. She went missing on October 30 and her parents lodged a complaint and she was traced to the house of the accused, Vikram of Kamarajar Nagar. He was remanded in judicial custody.
In another incident, Tirumangalam All-Woman Police arrested a 19-year-old youth for sexually assault on a class 11 girl with a promise of marriage. He was also remanded in judicial custody.